Abstract
Manufacturers could play a major role in influencing decisions upstream and downstream in their material supply chain, which includes influencing suppliers and customers to reduce materials and waste. Manufacturers could influence both suppliers’ and customers’ practices through their own eco-design and sustainable manufacturing strategies. This paper presents the supplier and supply chain constraints experienced by several manufacturers in the UK. This investigation uses semi-structured interviews in 9 manufacturers and 1 retailer, analysed using thematic analysis with the assistance of qualitative software, nVivo. It is found from this study that the supplier and supply chain practices are among the top constraints experienced by UK companies. This exploratory study provides insight into one of the main challenges in implementing Material Efficiency element of a sustainable manufacturing strategy.
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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Abdul Rashid, S.H., Evans, S. (2012). Supply Chain Constraints in Practising Material Efficiency Strategies: Evidence from UK Companies. In: Seliger, G. (eds) Sustainable Manufacturing. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27290-5_37
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27290-5_37
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